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Recognizing False Teachers
Do you ever wonder if you could be deceived by a false teacher? Pastor Barbie shares how to identify false teachers and emphasizes an even more important focus.
Scriptures Referenced
Matthew 7:15-16; Acts 8:9-24, 13:2-12; 2 Corinthians 4:1-2, 11:2-3
Key Insights
- False teachers will tell the truth, but not all of it. That’s deception.
- Sorcerers perform in order to distract from the truth, rather than releasing a word from God.
- God does not share His glory with anyone. Be wary of people who think they are great and enjoy receiving praise.
- Be gleaners of the Word; find things that everyone skips over.
- Beware of those who live on grace and don’t change.
- Never assume that false teaching only happens from the pulpit.
- How to recognize good teachers and leaders.
Prayer Targets
Please join us in prayer for:
- A hunger for the Word.
- Tears for the lost.
- Testimonies to share.
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Gathering Times
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- Thursdays, 6:00 PM
Contact Info
Springhouse Church
14119 Old Nashville Highway
Smyrna TN 37167
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Transcript
- Amen, amen, amen, amen.
Speaker:Well, good morning, Springhouse.
Speaker:Look at the person next to you and say, "I like you."
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:- I like you.
Speaker:- If you're joining us on live stream,
Speaker:thank you for joining us today.
Speaker:Guys, it's a good day to be in the house of the Lord,
Speaker:is it not?
Speaker:God is really moving in our midst
Speaker:and he's always up to something really good.
Speaker:We're gonna continue our series today, His Church.
Speaker:And as I explained to you last week,
Speaker:because I know that several of you,
Speaker:and I've been very encouraged that several of you
Speaker:are following along in the Word with us
Speaker:as we're traveling along in Acts,
Speaker:but because of some schedule changes that we had to make,
Speaker:we are jumping today from Acts chapter nine to chapter 13.
Speaker:Is that correct, Barbie?
Speaker:I hope so.
Speaker:I hope she didn't change the plan, you know?
Speaker:But 13, next week we will go to chapter 12
Speaker:and then next week 11.
Speaker:So we're just going backwards, okay?
Speaker:So we're going to 13, 12, and 11.
Speaker:And I do encourage you because when you come in prepared,
Speaker:when you set yourself apart and prepare before you come,
Speaker:man, the Lord really can move and speak to your heart.
Speaker:So go ahead and get into the Word, 13, 12, and 11.
Speaker:Guys, one of the very best decisions
Speaker:that Pastor Ronnie made for Springhouse Church
Speaker:was to install Barbie Laughlin as a pastor of this house.
Speaker:(audience cheering)
Speaker:I would not want to be doing this role
Speaker:with anyone else beside my side except for Barbie.
Speaker:Would you welcome our executive pastor, Pastor Barbie?
Speaker:(audience cheering)
Speaker:I really thought he was gonna be out of town, so.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:So chapter 13, is it?
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:I really like the Psalms.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:We're gonna dig into chapter 13.
Speaker:I am really excited about what the Lord is doing
Speaker:in this house.
Speaker:Guys, let me tell you, Pastor Bruce stopped in to see me
Speaker:this week, which was an honor in and of itself,
Speaker:just to be able to spend some time with him.
Speaker:And one of the first things he said to me,
Speaker:because he was with us last Sunday,
Speaker:and he went, "Barbie, the Holy Ghost is in that place.
Speaker:"The Holy Ghost is in that place."
Speaker:I'm like, I know!
Speaker:It's pretty awesome.
Speaker:But to be encouraged by someone who plowed this soil
Speaker:for so long for him to step in and be excited
Speaker:about what God's doing in this house
Speaker:was extremely encouraging.
Speaker:So I guess we will teach out of chapter 13 today.
Speaker:And if you will stand with us, we are gonna,
Speaker:do you know why we ask you to stand for this?
Speaker:We honor the word by giving it our full attention.
Speaker:We look at the word, we take it to heart, and we honor.
Speaker:This is scriptural.
Speaker:When they would read the scrolls in the word,
Speaker:the people would stand for the reading,
Speaker:and that's what we do.
Speaker:While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting,
Speaker:the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
Speaker:"for the work to which I have called them."
Speaker:So after they had fasted and prayed,
Speaker:they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
Speaker:Does that not sound like an old Holy Ghost thing?
Speaker:They fasted, they prayed, and they laid on hands.
Speaker:I'm digging this a little bit.
Speaker:Anyway, the two of them, sent on their way
Speaker:by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia
Speaker:and sailed from there to Cyprus.
Speaker:When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word
Speaker:of God in the Jewish synagogues.
Speaker:John was with them as their helper.
Speaker:They traveled through the whole island
Speaker:until they came to Paphos.
Speaker:There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet
Speaker:named Barjesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul,
Speaker:Sergius Paulus.
Speaker:The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul
Speaker:because he wanted to hear the word of God,
Speaker:but Elimes, the sorcerer, for that is what his name means,
Speaker:opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Speaker:Then Saul, who was also called Paul,
Speaker:filled with the Holy Spirit, say that again,
Speaker:filled with the Holy Spirit, one more time,
Speaker:filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elimes
Speaker:and said, "You are a child of the devil
Speaker:"and an enemy of everything that is right.
Speaker:"You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.
Speaker:"Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?
Speaker:"Now the hand of the Lord is against you.
Speaker:"You are going to be blind for a time,
Speaker:"not even able to see the light of the sun."
Speaker:Immediately mist and darkness came over him
Speaker:and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Speaker:When the proconsul saw what had happened,
Speaker:he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Speaker:Father God, may we always be amazed
Speaker:at the teaching of the Lord, not the teaching of a man,
Speaker:but the teaching of the Lord.
Speaker:Father God, I'm asking, Lord,
Speaker:that we would have ears that hear you today,
Speaker:but Father, even beyond that,
Speaker:hearts that are changed by your word today,
Speaker:Father, we're gonna lean in, we're gonna listen to you,
Speaker:we're gonna invite the Holy Spirit to do what he does
Speaker:and bring discernment in all things today.
Speaker:We just wanna sit at your feet and learn from you.
Speaker:Father, let my stuff fall in your stand.
Speaker:In Jesus' name, amen, amen.
Speaker:Because this is the text we're starting with,
Speaker:that is where I'm going to begin in this teaching.
Speaker:I have been charged with the opportunity
Speaker:to share with you regarding false teachers.
Speaker:And I honestly believe that the best way for me
Speaker:to share with you about false teachers
Speaker:is to tell you about right teachers,
Speaker:teachers who are committed to the Lord.
Speaker:But we are gonna touch on false teachers for just a moment
Speaker:because that's where we begin.
Speaker:And then we're gonna, hopefully,
Speaker:God is gonna take us through the scriptures
Speaker:and give us a little bit more insight.
Speaker:The very first thing I see in this passage of scripture
Speaker:is that we're talking about them coming across
Speaker:a false prophet and teacher, sorcerer,
Speaker:we called him Bar Jesus.
Speaker:Well, it's actually Bar Yessu.
Speaker:But in Nashville, it's Bar Jesus.
Speaker:So Bar Yessu is a prophet and he has drawn close
Speaker:to leaders and power and authority.
Speaker:You know what's interesting about this?
Speaker:His name, Bar Yessu, literally means son of Jesus.
Speaker:And on the surface, that sounds great, doesn't it?
Speaker:He's associated with Jesus.
Speaker:But let me tell you something, nowhere in the word of God
Speaker:are you called the son of Jesus.
Speaker:Nowhere in the word are you referred to as the son of Jesus.
Speaker:You are sons and daughters of a living God.
Speaker:Just because something has the name Jesus attached to it
Speaker:doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean it's sound,
Speaker:doesn't mean it's healthy for you.
Speaker:So he calls himself Bar Yessu.
Speaker:And I think it's interesting, later on we find out
Speaker:that the apostles call him exactly what he is.
Speaker:But sometimes one of the things you need to watch for
Speaker:are people who come in the name of Jesus,
Speaker:but are sharing something that isn't of him.
Speaker:It says that he was a sorcerer.
Speaker:It says that he was a sorcerer.
Speaker:Sorcerers by design, I mean, you're all are gonna think
Speaker:about Dumbledore, I know.
Speaker:But we're gonna talk about sorcerers are actually performers.
Speaker:They're performers and their job is to create an illusion
Speaker:that causes false things to appear real
Speaker:or real things to appear false.
Speaker:And the key word in this is performer.
Speaker:You don't want a performer unless you're going to a play.
Speaker:Then it's really good to have a good performer.
Speaker:But from your pulpit, you don't want a performer.
Speaker:You want somebody who's delivering a word of truth
Speaker:that comes from God.
Speaker:And we have to pay attention to that.
Speaker:One of the first things I wanna take you to
Speaker:is Acts chapter eight, we're gonna jump back.
Speaker:I believe Pastor Kevin taught from chapter eight
Speaker:a little while ago.
Speaker:But chapter eight, while we find out,
Speaker:I love the sound of turning pages.
Speaker:I really do, you just don't get the same thing
Speaker:as you scroll.
Speaker:But that's me personally.
Speaker:I love two of my favorite sounds in the morning
Speaker:is the sound of coffee brewing and pages turning.
Speaker:That's my favorite.
Speaker:That's my favorite.
Speaker:But Acts chapter eight, we're gonna jump back
Speaker:and we're gonna look at another sorcerer,
Speaker:another prophet, another false teacher.
Speaker:What we find, if you wanna read it,
Speaker:you start about in verse nine and go through verse 24.
Speaker:And I really encourage you to go do that
Speaker:because it gives us some strong watch words.
Speaker:But what we find in Simon, the sorcerer,
Speaker:is that the first thing we learn about him
Speaker:is that he was great.
Speaker:He proclaimed his own greatness.
Speaker:People who believe their own hype are dangerous.
Speaker:People who are popular to themselves,
Speaker:you wanna be careful of.
Speaker:People who, it also says, and the people were drawn to him,
Speaker:dependent upon the translation that you read,
Speaker:talks about he could always draw a crowd.
Speaker:And they would say, "He is the power of God.
Speaker:"This man has the power of God."
Speaker:Not everything that looks like power comes from God.
Speaker:There are false and counterfeit sources.
Speaker:There are powers.
Speaker:If we're gonna believe in God,
Speaker:we must also believe in the demonic forces.
Speaker:If we're gonna believe that God is powerful,
Speaker:we must understand that there is a counterfeit
Speaker:as well to that.
Speaker:So God wouldn't have us ignorant,
Speaker:but one of the signs that you look for
Speaker:when you're trying to determine,
Speaker:is this just a good show, or is this genuine?
Speaker:Watch the train of the glory.
Speaker:Watch the train of worship as it goes.
Speaker:People who will receive exaltation for themselves
Speaker:are dangerous.
Speaker:They're dangerous, and just because there's a little flash
Speaker:and a little shine doesn't mean it's authentic.
Speaker:Sometimes you can receive a word from someone
Speaker:and that word is not sourced
Speaker:from where it should be sourced from,
Speaker:and in that case, it's no better than getting a palm reading.
Speaker:Seriously.
Speaker:Check the source.
Speaker:And one of the things that we do in checking the source
Speaker:is we see where's the worship going.
Speaker:Am I applauding the prophet,
Speaker:or am I applauding the God he's serving?
Speaker:Am I applauding the God that he is serving?
Speaker:Worship is a big telltale thing.
Speaker:God doesn't, it's unhealthy to be in a place
Speaker:where your people are worshiping their pastor,
Speaker:or your people are following a teacher, following a leader,
Speaker:instead of the person they are supposed to be following.
Speaker:Pay attention to who's getting the attention.
Speaker:Pay attention to where the worship goes.
Speaker:And in that, I really, something that has been in my spirit
Speaker:for a while that I just want to encourage you in
Speaker:is the train of worship.
Speaker:In the vein of worship, do you understand
Speaker:that not every false teaching is gonna come from a pulpit?
Speaker:Do you understand that every false teaching
Speaker:is not necessarily gonna take place in a place like this?
Speaker:It's gonna come across TikTok, it's gonna be on Facebook,
Speaker:it's gonna be on your television screens,
Speaker:it's gonna be on your computer monitors,
Speaker:and it's gonna come from bands on a stage.
Speaker:And not necessarily a secular band.
Speaker:Listen guys, we know the message of a secular band
Speaker:is not gonna be Christ-centered.
Speaker:But sometimes we run across worship,
Speaker:I use that term lightly, that is not Christ-centered.
Speaker:Are you paying attention these days
Speaker:and how many of our songs are about us?
Speaker:And that's appropriate, there are songs of ascent,
Speaker:there are psalms of ascent
Speaker:that are specifically designed to give the testimony
Speaker:of what God has done in our life.
Speaker:That is the psalm of ascent and that is absolutely right
Speaker:and absolutely perfect, but it should never stop there.
Speaker:It should never stop there.
Speaker:That worship, there's a completion.
Speaker:Pastor Jonathan, I have the privilege
Speaker:of having an office across from his.
Speaker:And during the week, let me tell you something,
Speaker:it is a very rare day that I don't hear him
Speaker:in there worshiping, that I don't hear him in there
Speaker:with his guitar, that I don't hear him in,
Speaker:turn it down, man, no I'm kidding.
Speaker:[audience laughing]
Speaker:I just wanted to do that publicly so he'd stop,
Speaker:no I'm kidding.
Speaker:I listen to him worship, I listen to the way
Speaker:that he enters in, he prays over this set list.
Speaker:And I want you to pay attention to what he did today.
Speaker:If you didn't pay attention to what he did today,
Speaker:he started with praise.
Speaker:He knows that the word tells us,
Speaker:I will enter his gates with thanksgiving.
Speaker:And that we are to enter his courts with praise.
Speaker:That's exactly what he did.
Speaker:And then he moved toward proclamation,
Speaker:Yahweh, we love you, Yahweh, we love you.
Speaker:And we were able to sing that,
Speaker:and we were able to enter into that.
Speaker:And then we had, the next thing we had a proclamation,
Speaker:we had Sarah singing, this is how I fight my battles.
Speaker:This is how I fight my battles.
Speaker:And then we moved to a place, we had another,
Speaker:and then we moved to a place of completion
Speaker:where we moved into adoration.
Speaker:Adoration, you God are holy forever.
Speaker:You God are holy forever.
Speaker:Your name is the highest.
Speaker:No one like him.
Speaker:Now here's the danger point guys.
Speaker:There are places all over, and we do it ourselves too.
Speaker:We never complete the cycle.
Speaker:We don't complete that cycle, and so we get stuck.
Speaker:It's wonderful to be in praise,
Speaker:and it's wonderful to jump, and it's wonderful to leap,
Speaker:and it's wonderful, but there's more to the story.
Speaker:And so often some of the things that we're being taught
Speaker:are this feel good God that we jump and we shout,
Speaker:but we never complete that cycle,
Speaker:and get into the place where we are acknowledging
Speaker:the absolute holiness of God, the sovereignty of who he is.
Speaker:Let me tell you why that's dangerous.
Speaker:Because all too often praise and songs sell,
Speaker:but worship and adoration invites presence, invites presence,
Speaker:and the enemy does not care how loud you shout.
Speaker:What he doesn't want you to do is ever fall on your knees,
Speaker:get on your face before a sovereign God,
Speaker:and surrender your life, and that's the danger
Speaker:that we face sometimes in the distortion of going
Speaker:this is great, this is great, this is perfect,
Speaker:but have you stopped in your praise?
Speaker:Have you accelerated and moved to a place of worship
Speaker:before him, acknowledging him?
Speaker:It's not just teachers with books in front of them
Speaker:that are giving us our doctrine today.
Speaker:It's people with guitars and microphones that are,
Speaker:there's a song that says Jesus turned,
Speaker:God turned his face away.
Speaker:That's not scripture.
Speaker:It's a great song, it's a great thing to sing,
Speaker:but it's not true, and there are distortions
Speaker:that we're getting that unless you know the truth,
Speaker:you're never gonna recognize the distortion,
Speaker:and that's where I'm going with today.
Speaker:I'm gonna tell you about the truth.
Speaker:I'm gonna tell you what a pastor, leader, teacher
Speaker:should actually look like to you,
Speaker:someone that you want to invest in the words
Speaker:that they're giving because they're the word of God.
Speaker:Scripture tells us, well, I'll jump there,
Speaker:but Acts 13, Paul corrects Bariassu.
Speaker:He corrects him and he says, you are a son of the devil.
Speaker:You're not, which was interesting to me
Speaker:because he called himself the son of Jesus.
Speaker:And Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
Speaker:Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,
Speaker:looks at it and says, you are a son of the devil,
Speaker:and you are an opponent of everything
Speaker:that God is trying to do.
Speaker:Let me tell you something.
Speaker:The things that we do, they can cause harm
Speaker:in the kingdom if they're not sound.
Speaker:They can cause damage in the kingdom.
Speaker:I'll love later when Peter confronts Simon,
Speaker:listen to this, tell me if this does not strike you.
Speaker:Peter goes in and he begins to,
Speaker:they begin to lay hands on people
Speaker:and they begin to receive the Holy Ghost,
Speaker:and here's Simon, the sorcerer,
Speaker:the performer, the one who thought he was great
Speaker:and allowed the people to exalt him.
Speaker:That guy, it says he gets, he becomes a believer
Speaker:and he is baptized.
Speaker:And it's after he is a believer
Speaker:and he's been baptized that he goes, I wanna buy that.
Speaker:I wanna buy that power that you have.
Speaker:And Peter turns around and corrects him sternly,
Speaker:we'll just call it that.
Speaker:And he says, again, basically, you're a son of the devil.
Speaker:You are opposing the move of God.
Speaker:But let me tell you something.
Speaker:Just because, two things.
Speaker:You can be a believer, you can be baptized
Speaker:and still really blow it.
Speaker:Really, really mess up.
Speaker:And how sad would it have been for Peter
Speaker:to just walk away and let him stay in his mess.
Speaker:But he didn't, he turned around and he corrected him.
Speaker:And he's like, you can't buy this thing.
Speaker:But the wonderful thing about it was Simon said,
Speaker:please pray for me.
Speaker:Please pray for me that none of those things befall me.
Speaker:Pray for me when you are captured and when you are snared
Speaker:and when you mess up and somebody loves you enough
Speaker:to come and go, what are you thinking?
Speaker:What have you done?
Speaker:Your response should not be, well, who are you?
Speaker:It should be, pray for me.
Speaker:Pray for me that none of those things would befall me.
Speaker:Oh, Jesus, help me, Lord.
Speaker:Okay, so those are some things you don't want.
Speaker:You do not want somebody who has a whole lot of shine
Speaker:and is shallow.
Speaker:You don't want somebody whose personality
Speaker:overrides his anointing.
Speaker:You don't want somebody where you walk out of a room
Speaker:singing their praises instead of God's.
Speaker:You don't want somebody who has a Sunday relationship
Speaker:with God that can speak an eloquent word
Speaker:but has no true authority in the Spirit.
Speaker:Because a person can, can, can I tell you something else?
Speaker:Not all false teachers are intentionally corrupt.
Speaker:A lot of them are just immature in their faith.
Speaker:We promote young people so fast and we give them a voice
Speaker:and an authority and they have no roots
Speaker:and they have no grounding and they have no foundation
Speaker:and so they're teaching us what they've learned themselves
Speaker:from others rather than the authority of God.
Speaker:Not all false teachers, not all people who are missing it
Speaker:are out to get you, they just don't know.
Speaker:But let me tell you something,
Speaker:you're not gonna recognize it if you don't know.
Speaker:And so allowing the gift of the Holy Spirit
Speaker:to birth discernment in our life changes everything.
Speaker:So what's a pastor supposed to look like?
Speaker:Not sharp, not flashy and glory driven
Speaker:with a distorted word?
Speaker:What's it supposed to look like?
Speaker:Let's look at the word and see what it says.
Speaker:First let's go to Matthew 7, verse 15.
Speaker:The word says, I am so in joy in my amplified Bible,
Speaker:seriously.
Speaker:Verse 16 it says, by, well 15 says,
Speaker:beware of false prophets and teachers
Speaker:who come to you dressed as sheep,
Speaker:appearing as gentle and innocent,
Speaker:but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Speaker:By their fruit you will recognize them.
Speaker:That is by their contrived doctrine and self-focus.
Speaker:By their fruit you will recognize them.
Speaker:Now this was really big in my spirit.
Speaker:You do understand that the quality of fruit
Speaker:is what matters, not the quantity.
Speaker:You can be a growing, prospering, big church
Speaker:and not be a healthy church.
Speaker:You can have a thousand apples,
Speaker:but if only two of them are good,
Speaker:you've not got a lot of good fruit.
Speaker:It's in the quality of what it is.
Speaker:And I mean, seriously guys, how can it be about numbers?
Speaker:The word of God tells us that God took armies of thousands
Speaker:and reduced them to 300 because he didn't want man
Speaker:to brag about the numbers that he had.
Speaker:We did that sometimes.
Speaker:We love the big numbers because it shows the army
Speaker:we have built.
Speaker:I don't wanna fight with an army I've built, trust me.
Speaker:I don't have the skills, I want the 300.
Speaker:And I believe that if we will trust God for that,
Speaker:it's not about numbers guys, it's about good fruit.
Speaker:It's about good fruit.
Speaker:Taylor Swift had a concert in February.
Speaker:Two days back to back, over 300,000 people attended that.
Speaker:What does that prove?
Speaker:Proves we like a good show.
Speaker:We like a good show.
Speaker:When I go into my church, I don't want a good show.
Speaker:If I want a good show, I'll watch it on TV
Speaker:or I'll come and watch Springhouse Theater do something.
Speaker:Which they're pretty awesome,
Speaker:Sound of Music going on as we speak.
Speaker:Amazing crowds, great production.
Speaker:But that's not why I come here on Sunday mornings.
Speaker:That's not why I do this.
Speaker:I come because I wanna worship with you.
Speaker:I wanna worship the Creator with you.
Speaker:I wanna listen to a sound word from somebody
Speaker:who's actually studied the scriptures for themselves.
Speaker:For themselves.
Speaker:That's what, and you know what fruit,
Speaker:it says you'll know them by your fruit.
Speaker:If fruit isn't numbers, what is it?
Speaker:Fruit is a church where lives are being changed.
Speaker:Fruit is a church where marriages are being restored.
Speaker:Fruit is a place where salvations are happening.
Speaker:And the Holy Spirit is delivering people
Speaker:from bondages that they've been in.
Speaker:Fruit is sound and it's good.
Speaker:Just like when he says taste and see that the Lord is good.
Speaker:He is good.
Speaker:Now, let's get one more passage of scripture in here
Speaker:that I think is so important.
Speaker:In your pastors and leaders, 2 Corinthians 11.
Speaker:[paper rustling]
Speaker:This is the kind of pastor, teacher, leader,
Speaker:worship leader that you want.
Speaker:It says, Paul says, I, in verse two,
Speaker:I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy
Speaker:because I have promised you to one husband
Speaker:to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Speaker:You want leaders who will lead you
Speaker:in an upward call toward Christ.
Speaker:You want leaders who are presenting to you
Speaker:that you don't have to stay in your sin.
Speaker:You want leaders who are telling you
Speaker:that you can live a godly life before him.
Speaker:You want teachers that will do exactly what Kevin
Speaker:just now did, teaching my message.
Speaker:But to go, there's an upward call.
Speaker:There's an upward call.
Speaker:There's a reference in here, Paul calls this God,
Speaker:this fashionable God of darkness.
Speaker:A fashionable God of darkness.
Speaker:There is a very popular God that many people serve today
Speaker:who will allow you to stay bound all of your life,
Speaker:living on grace and mercy, which we all do,
Speaker:but never telling you you can be free.
Speaker:You want a message that's coming straight
Speaker:from the throne room?
Speaker:Is that it was for freedom that Christ has set you free.
Speaker:Do not be yoked again with slavery.
Speaker:That's the message God has for you.
Speaker:And if his messengers are not telling you that, run.
Speaker:Run.
Speaker:We can put on a good show and we can garner a crowd,
Speaker:but it will not build his church.
Speaker:And we are about building his church.
Speaker:This is what scripture says.
Speaker:This is the kind of pastor, leader, teacher you want.
Speaker:I'm jealous for you with a godly jealousy
Speaker:because I have promised you if your pastors
Speaker:and your leaders do not feel a sense of responsibility
Speaker:for you before the Lord, there's a problem.
Speaker:There's a problem.
Speaker:If they're asking you to serve them
Speaker:rather than them serving you, there's a problem
Speaker:because Christ came to serve.
Speaker:And your leaders should be servant-hearted.
Speaker:And finally, 2 Corinthians chapter four.
Speaker:Listen.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:You're gonna fall in love with that sound.
Speaker:You're gonna buy a real Bible.
Speaker:Can you do this with your phone?
Speaker:Ah, Jesus.
Speaker:You do that and something from TikTok's
Speaker:gonna spring up under there.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:You're gonna post something you don't mean to post.
Speaker:Get yourself one of these.
Speaker:And the beauty of it is it's large print.
Speaker:Woo, yes!
Speaker:(audience cheering)
Speaker:Oh, okay.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:God is so good.
Speaker:Okay, can anybody find 2 Corinthians?
Speaker:Verse chapter four, verse one and two.
Speaker:Listen to this.
Speaker:This is what Paul says.
Speaker:Therefore, since we have this ministry,
Speaker:just as we have received mercy from God,
Speaker:we do not get discouraged or lose our motivation.
Speaker:You want a pastor who doesn't stay discouraged,
Speaker:who doesn't run when things get tough,
Speaker:who digs his feet in and gets right in the mud with you.
Speaker:That's the kind of pastor you want.
Speaker:You want one that says,
Speaker:it says we renounce the disgraceful things
Speaker:hidden because of shame.
Speaker:We don't walk in trickery.
Speaker:We don't adulterate the word.
Speaker:We state it openly and leave it open to be judged.
Speaker:You want a pastor who's transparent.
Speaker:You want a leader who will let you in their life
Speaker:and tell you that they got a speeding ticket
Speaker:going through the school zone.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:Now listen, I would not have told you that
Speaker:if he hadn't told you that first.
Speaker:But I am gonna tell you this, no I'm kidding.
Speaker:You want a pastor who loves the Lord.
Speaker:You want a pastor who's gonna open up his life
Speaker:and his heart, who's gonna dig in the word
Speaker:and who's gonna share with you.
Speaker:Let me tell you what else you want.
Speaker:You want a pastor who loves you,
Speaker:who loves your family, who cares for you.
Speaker:God gave me the most perfect example.
Speaker:You wanna see what a man of God looks like.
Speaker:You wanna see what a pastor that loves the Lord,
Speaker:digs in the truth and serves well.
Speaker:I've got one for you right here.
Speaker:(audience cheering)
Speaker:You know what he's doing?
Speaker:Nobody would work the nursery that day.
Speaker:And pastor will, I'll work it.
Speaker:Do you know how many times he's done that?
Speaker:Do you know how many times he's loved on my grandson?
Speaker:Isn't he cute?
Speaker:My grandson's cute too.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:Let me tell you something about Will Sevier.
Speaker:He is one of the most humble men that I know.
Speaker:He is one of the most kind-hearted, servant-hearted
Speaker:people that I know and he is sound.
Speaker:Sound all the way through.
Speaker:That's the kind of pastor you want.
Speaker:That's the kind of person that you want.
Speaker:And guys, let me tell you something.
Speaker:You don't need to focus.
Speaker:Come on out worship band.
Speaker:I mean true worship band, come on out.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:I'm getting so much trouble.
Speaker:(audience laughing)
Speaker:Let me tell you something guys.
Speaker:We don't need to walk around focusing on Satan
Speaker:and what he's doing.
Speaker:If you will focus on the true,
Speaker:if you will focus on the ministers who are pouring out truth,
Speaker:opening their lives and serving you,
Speaker:you're not gonna have to worry about the other.
Speaker:If you will ask the Holy Spirit of God
Speaker:to give you a gift of discernment.
Speaker:If you will press into the gift of the Holy Spirit
Speaker:and allow him to give you the gift of discernment,
Speaker:you will walk through life going, that's not him.
Speaker:That's not God.
Speaker:Oh no, that's not God.
Speaker:And you will leave those places where you and your family
Speaker:and your spirit and your life are in danger
Speaker:for believing the false.
Speaker:God is good.
Speaker:God is faithful.
Speaker:And if we will press into him, we will press into him,
Speaker:God will release truth.
Speaker:He will reveal to you the true and the false
Speaker:and your life and the lives of your family
Speaker:and the lives of the generations to come
Speaker:that are following you will be transformed
Speaker:because God will draw a bloodline in your life
Speaker:that changes everything from here to there, everything.
Speaker:So what we're getting ready to do
Speaker:is we're getting ready to complete the circle again.
Speaker:I'm gonna ask some of the worship warriors,
Speaker:some of the, is anybody else who's in the praise team here?
Speaker:I need you if you are.
Speaker:If you play an instrument,
Speaker:if you stand on this front line,
Speaker:you guys are gonna be our prayer warriors today.
Speaker:And if you need prayer today for anything,
Speaker:see these guys don't stand up here because they're gifted.
Speaker:They stand up here because they're anointed
Speaker:and they have set their lives apart
Speaker:to follow the purposes of God.
Speaker:And this is part of that.
Speaker:It's not about a microphone.
Speaker:It's about a life that is dedicated to him.
Speaker:So what we're gonna do is we're gonna complete the circle.
Speaker:We are gonna enter into holy forever one more time
Speaker:and we are going to worship him
Speaker:and we are gonna finish this gathering with adoration
Speaker:and we are gonna invite the presence of the Holy Spirit
Speaker:to just come in and do what he does best,
Speaker:wreck our lives and change everything.
Speaker:So if you would stand with me,
Speaker:we're gonna enter into worship.
Speaker:Let's go ahead, guys.
Speaker:Father, we're asking you.
Speaker:We're inviting the Holy Spirit, though you are here,
Speaker:we're asking for the fullness.
Speaker:In the name of Jesus, do what you do.
Speaker:We're gonna worship.
Speaker:Jesus.
Speaker:you